quote:

Originally posted by americangirl:
having just gone through the job search here in LA (and i sure hope a few specific others whom i won't name are reading this) and assuming you mean non-acting/survival jobs...

it sucks.

MOST of the jobs available, at least on craigslist, want high degrees (masters level, often), several years of experience in the field, are full time (30-40 hrs/week)...

and pay about $8-13 an hour.

this was pretty much unheard of in NYC where i came from. i mean, sure, they wanted all of those qualifiers above, but they'd at least be willing to pay a living wage.

even for restaurant jobs-

you can read a bit about my short lived career as an LA waitress in the thread "tips on becoming a waiter"(as jactressk). it ain't easy!

i DID just get hired in another job, that honestly, is pretty darn close to perfect. but again, several hundred applied, about 100 or so got interviewed, about 30 got a second interview, and 10 of us were hired.

i got this idea from someone-

look into job sharing. if you have a friend out here also looking for a job, if you see something you are both qualified to do, that is FT, ask about job sharing, so you each work about 20-25 hrs a week, which leaves you time to audition and you have someone who can fill in for you when you have auditions/bookings and vice versa.

let's continue to show what i experienced. in mid-december through mid-january, i did some HEAVY research into possible LA jobs. looking at my notes here:

i emailed 17 kids gym/class facilities (i work with kids primarily). i heard back from 2, and one got scared off when i told them my prefered salary range,

i emailed 39 catering companies about cater-waiter employment, which i have some strong experience doing. 9 responded back. 2 said they'd keep my info on file. 3 said they weren't hiring. the rest said to reapply at a later date.

i emailed 22 event planners about event assisting work (my other major in college). these are typically owned and operated by one person so it had a better response rate. 6 wrote back thanking me but "we're not hiring." several said "we're not hiring but we'll keep you on file for when we are." 3 put me in "freelance help files".

2 months later, i emailed a different set of event planners about event babysitting work. 2 wrote back and one i interviewed with, she has a newborn! i though it was going to work out, but... she's trying to find a nanny so she can go back to work soon. so i don't know what the next step will be.

there seems to be an overall bad experience with Cheesecake Factory all over town, from just about every actor I've spoken to, so avoid, despite the Craigs postings that they are hiring, they aren't, trust me.

and i dropped off my resume and filled out an app at my old company's LA branch. no word.

plus, an avg of 5-17 emails a day via Craigslist.

people ARE hiring, but you will have MAJOR competition for just a few jobs or you'll have to try to get jobs that don't pay a living wage.

quote:

Not a good time to move here unless you're a trust fund kid.